


this is the real thing

by lotts (LottieAnna)



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Secret Marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-16 06:31:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13048440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LottieAnna/pseuds/lotts
Summary: Nate would definitely slay a dragon for Mikey, no questions asked. Mikey would probably slay a dragon for Nate, too. Actually, they’d probably team up to slay the dragon, which is ideal, because they’re really fucking great together.





	this is the real thing

**Author's Note:**

> IF YOU FOUND THIS THROUGH GOOGLING, KNOW ANYONE MENTIONED IN THIS STORY PERSONALLY, OR ARE MENTIONED YOURSELF: please, please click away. This is a work of fiction and nothing written in this story is true. Any accurate information used in this story is publicly available information about public figures, the rest is made up, 100%.
> 
> Thanks to Ang for looking this over, title from "Guitar String/Wedding Ring" by Carly Rae Jepsen.

It’s a little colder than Nate is used to, because in his brain it’s still summer, even though it’s officially September. It’s not, like, cold-cold, just – a little chilly.

It’s not bad, though. In fact, it’s pretty fucking good, because Mikey’s here, curled up on Nate’s chest in the hammock, and for once, it’s not too sticky or hot to cuddle outside. It’s still sunny, and there’s a nice breeze, and they’re leaving Mississauga, soon, but right now, that doesn’t really feel scary. Like, Nate loves the O, and the Steelheads will always kinda be his team, but he feels kind of… ready to be done with it, now, like he doesn’t quite fit here anymore.

But some things do fit, at least, in this particular moment. Like, Mikey fits perfectly, tucked under Nate’s arm, and the unanticipated chilliness is perfectly offset by the warmth of Mikey’s body, and Nate doesn’t think he’s ever been this – this comfortable, this content, this _happy._

He looks down to say something to Mikey, whose eyes are kind of closed, like he’s not quite asleep, but just, like, really relaxed, and honestly, Nate gets it. Things are really fucking cozy right now. And, just, things are really fucking _good_ right now, even outside of right-right now. He’s about to be, like, a few steps closer to being an actual adult, and he’s gonna get to do that with Mikey, and they’re gonna get to play hockey while they do it.

Which is, like, pretty much as good as it could get, as far as Nate is concerned.

“Hey,” Nate says.

Mikey looks up, and god, his eyelashes are so fucking long. “Yo.”

“You look dumb when you sleep,” Nate says.

Mikey smiles. “Bullshit, you think I look cute as fuck, like, all the time.”

“I mean, maybe,” Nate says, smiling back. “Doesn’t mean you don’t look dumb when you sleep.”

“How can I look dumb and cute at the same time?” Mikey asks.

“Are you kidding me?” Nate says. “You literally always look dumb and cute. That’s, like, your entire thing.”

“Alright, sure, whatever you say,” Mikey laughs, putting his head back down on Nate’s chest.

Nate takes a second, and then he says, “This is nice.”

“Yeah,” Mikey says. “Your face is nice.”

“ _Your_ face is nice,” Nate shoots back.

“I thought my face was dumb and cute,” Mikey says.

“Yeah, well, it can be all of them,” Nate says, and he leans down to kiss Mikey as Mikey scooches up to kiss him, because they’re, like, perfect together, in Nate’s opinion, which is totally biased, but definitely correct.

Nate has kissed Mikey more times than he can count, and the fact that it’s still this good is, like, magic, maybe. Nate doesn’t know if magic exists, but, like, if it does, Mikey’s definitely got some of it in him, because Nate’s so goddamn in love with him it feels like they’re in a fairytale, sometimes, and Nate will readily admit that it’s fucking dumb, but he doesn’t really know how else to explain it. It’s the kind of love that should be at the center of some epic love story. Like, Nate would definitely slay a dragon for Mikey, no questions asked. Mikey would probably slay a dragon for Nate, too. Actually, they’d probably team up to slay the dragon, which is ideal, because they’re really fucking great together.

Anyway, Nate’s point is: he’s pretty sure that whatever’s between him and Mikey can’t just be, like, being in love, because he can’t imagine that there are actually other people who are this fucking happy together, so. Magic.

“What are you thinking about?” Mikey murmurs, his mouth close to Nate’s.

“How good you are at kissing,” Nate says. “Also, dragons.”

“Like, fire-breathing ones?”

“I dunno,” Nate says honestly. “I guess, yeah.”

“Sweet,” Mikey says, and he leans in to kiss Nate some more.

Nate would slay, like, a billion dragons for Mikey.

“Hey,” Nate says.

“Yeah?”

“I feel like we’re gonna get married.”

Mikey pulls back pretty fast, examining Nate’s face as Nate holds his breath, and for a second, Nate doesn’t know what Mikey’s gonna do, but then Mikey furrows his brow and says, “Is this you proposing? Because, like, I love you, but you don’t even have a ring or anything.”

“I mean, I didn’t really prepare in advance,” Nate says.

Mikey rolls his eyes. “That’s on you. Man, you didn’t even get down on one knee.”

“We’re in a hammock!” Nate protests.

“You could’ve gotten out of the hammock,” Mikey says.

“Fine, then that doesn’t count as a proposal,” Nate says. “I was just saying.”

“Saying what?”

“That I– I’m sure about this. Like, you’re it for me. That’s all.” Nate’s ears are probably red, but whatever.

“Oh,” Mikey says. “I mean, well – yeah. That’s – yeah.”

“Yeah?” Nate says, and there are butterflies in his stomach

“Of course,” Mikey says. “It’s us, y’know? That’s how it’s always gonna be.”

It’s something Nate’s sort of always know, but. Still.  

It’s nice to hear, is all.

***

So, like, Nate’s pretty sure he’s not engaged, and Mikey pretty much confirms that two days later.

By, like, actually proposing.

Like: one second, they’re just in Mikey’s room, and the next, Mikey is on one knee and grabbing Nate’s hand and looking up at him.

“Bro,” Nate says.

“No, this is, like, the only time you can’t call me bro,” Mikey says. “I’m trying to be at least somewhat romantic, here.”

“Okay, can I call you dude?” Nate asks, slightly dazed.

“Dude is fine,” Mikey says, and he’s smiling so fucking wide, and Nate realizes that he is too.

“Alright. Dude,” Nate says. “Holy fuck, just – bro. Fuck, I mean, dude.”

Mikey laughs, and Nate is, like, embarrassingly close to crying. “Okay, well,” Mikey says. “Uh, I love you a whole lot, and you’re, like, my best friend in the entire world, and I just – we’ve already been on every team together, so why not this one, right?” Mikey cringes. “Fuck, that sounded so cheesy.”

“You’re good,” Nate says, and his voice sounds so foreign to him.

“I had stuff written down,” Mikey says. “I had a whole speech–”

“It’s fine, skip to the end,” Nate says. “The good part.”

“The rest of it was pretty good, too,” Mikey says.

“Okay, but, like, I wanna say yes,” Nate says.

“Oh my god, you’re so impatient,” Mikey says. “How do you even know why I’m gonna say?”

“If you don’t ask soon, I’m coming down there and stealing your thunder,” Nate says.

“You wouldn’t.”

“We both know I would.”

Mikey tries to roll his eyes, except he’s still smiling, and he’s also maybe about to cry, because he squeezes his eyes shut and takes a deep breath, and the next time he speaks, his voice is kind of shaky.

“Alright, fine,” Mikey says. “So, uh, here goes, I guess. Will you, y’know. Um, marry me?”

“Oh my god, _yes,”_ Nate says, and then he like, tackles Mikey to the ground and kisses him as hard as he possibly can.

 ***

Later, they go to CVS and buy Ring Pops, and they somehow manage it without making out in the aisle, and with only minimal blushing and snickering as they pay.

In the car, Nate unwraps the watermelon one.

“Hey,” Mikey says, pouting. “That one was mine.”

“Duh,” Nate says, and he grabs Mikey’s hand to slide it onto his left hand.

“What the fuck,” Mikey says, in this little awed whisper.

“Good call?” Nate asks. He can’t stop staring at the Ring Pop, which is, like, fucking dumb, because it’s not even a real ring, just, like, cheap candy.

But, he did just slide it onto his boyfriend’s – or, fuck, his _fiancé’s –_ finger, so.

“Good call,” Mikey confirms.

***

Nate enjoys being engaged for, like, a day and a half, during which he and Mikey manage to get away with almost never leaving Mikey’s bed. They both kind of get impatient, though, and the leftover plastic from the Ring Pop is, like, not comfortable.

“Alright, so, engagement sex… it’s, y’know, great, or whatever,” Nate starts.

“Yeah,” Mikey says. “I’m kinda over it, though. Like, being engaged, not the sex.”

“How long are people engaged, usually?” Nate asks.

Mikey shrugs. “However long it takes to plan a wedding, I guess.”

“Alright, well, we should do that fast,” Nate says.

“How fast is fast?”

“How soon can we get married?”

They look it up, and the answer is pretty much whenever they want, and, well.

Nate figures there’s no time like the present, and Mikey seems to agree.

***

Nate picks out the rings.

They’re pretty standard, just plain silver bands, and they’re pretty much the first ones Nate had seen online and liked, so he ordered them.

There’s no stone, and no engraving, because they don’t have that much money, it doesn’t really seem necessary – Nate just wants something that will remind him that he did, in fact, marry his best friend, and it’s real.

Mikey tears up when he sees them.

“You can’t chirp me for crying,” he says, wiping at his eyes.

“Wasn’t going to,” Nate says. “I get it.”

“I really like them,” Mikey says. “You did a good job picking them out. They’re, like – I dunno. What I picture when I think of wedding bands. Like, it looks kind of like my mom’s.”

“I’m pretty sure your mom’s wedding ring is nicer than this one,” Nate says.

“Still,” says Mikey.

Nate is kind of overwhelmed, for a second, by just how fucking serious all this is, but then Mikey turns to Nate and smiles, and Nate is still overwhelmed, but he’s less scared, at least.

It’s Nate, and it’s Mikey, and it’s forever. That, he can handle.

***

The picture of a quickie wedding that Nate has in his head is like, late nights and Elvis impersonators and lots of drunk people, but he and Mikey are officially declared husbands on a nice, quiet stretch of beach, with the sun setting behind them. The chapel takes a few pictures, as part of the wedding package, and the whole experience is this small, romantic thing that Nate thinks is honestly perfect for them.

They’re just wearing gameday suits, minus the ties, and Mikey’s is unbuttoned at the top, and Nate stares at the top of Mikey’s chest as he says his vows, because if he looks into Mikey’s eyes, he’s gonna cry, which will get Mikey crying, and then they’ll be too busy crying to actually say “I do,” which would be a huge disaster.

His voice quivers a little bit, anyway.

Then – it’s done. They’re, like, married, legally, and they’re kissing each other, and it’s probably kind of indecent, but whatever, they’re officially newlyweds, so Nate figures they have a free pass.

It should probably feel weird, Nate thinks. It should probably feel like they’ve just done something big and permanent and out of control, but – it’s Mikey, and it’s Nate, and nothing has ever felt too big for them, not even dragons, and not even forever.

***

Nate goes to the AHL, and Mikey gets hurt.

It’s pretty much the worst case scenario, even though Nate’s having an alright time in Binghamton, but then Mikey spends six weeks recovering in Jersey, bored out of his mind, and then he gets sent down.

And then – they fight.

Like, okay, Nate and Mikey have fought before. Over small things, and slightly less small things, and they always work it out in the end, but this one is… ugly. Like, “you haven’t acted like you cared about me at all for the last month” and “you’re always too busy for me these days” and “I don’t know how you can say you love me when you clearly don’t care at all” ugly. Nate doesn’t even know who said what, and neither of them is being fair, because they’re both just throwing their worst fears at each other and pretending they’re legitimate accusations, and it’s all so fucking dumb, because they both have things to apologize for, probably, but the idea that they don’t love each other is just – it’s crap. It’s complete and total bullshit, honestly, and that’s the thing Nate is most angry about when they hang up.

He’s shaky, he’s fuming, he’s hurt, and his first instinct is to call Mikey to complain about it, except Mikey is the one he’s mad at, and that just _sucks_ , and–

Nate takes a deep breath and forces himself to think.

They’re in different places right now, which is hard, and getting sent back to juniors probably sucks even more than getting sent down to the minors. Plus, Mikey’s used to being the best, and he’s not good at feeling bad.

 _i didnt mean that,_ Nate texts, and then, _im really sorry._

 _ok,_ Mikey texts back, and Nate feels his heart break, a little.

So, Mikey’s not ready to forgive him, or to apologize, which is fine, but Nate doesn’t know how Mikey’s feeling at all, and can’t really ask, and suddenly, Mississauga seems punishingly far away, and Nate misses being able to just head over to Mikey’s place and check on him. He’d bet anything that Mikey could use a hug, right now. Honestly, Nate could use a hug too.

For now, the best he can do is take his wedding ring off the chain it usually lives on and slide it onto his finger, and after he stares at it for a second, he makes a decision.

***

The next time Nate calls Mikey, he’s sitting in his car, and it’s dark out.

“Hi,” Mikey says when he picks up, and he sounds tired, cautious.

“Hey,” Nate says. “I, uh, did something stupid.”

“What?” Mikey says, and he sounds scared.

Nate gulps. “Just – come outside, please?”

“What’re you–” Nate hears rustling, then sees Mikey walk over to his window, and all of a sudden, it’s like – it’s happening, Nate is here, and Mikey is, like, only feet away from him, for the first time in forever.

God, Nate’s missed him so much.

“I didn’t wanna ring your doorbell,” Nate says, and he steps out of the car so Mikey can see him, barely registering the cold.

They stare at each other, and Mikey doesn’t say anything else, just stares down at his phone before he looks back at Nate, like he’s trying to figure out if this is real. Nate gets it, honestly. He just spent five hours driving here and he still feels caught off-guard by it.

“What the fuck,” Mikey says, still staring at Nate, and Nate doesn’t know if Mikey can see the way he shrugs and offers him a small smile, but Mikey hangs up and walks away from the window, and Nate’s heart starts pounding.

And it’s like – Mikey looks the same, but also different, and Nate hasn’t been in the same place as him in so long, and he should maybe say something, but now that Mikey’s here, all Nate wants to do is touch him.

Mikey seems to have a similar idea, because as soon as the front door is closed behind him, he makes a beeline for Nate and throws his arms around him, tucking his face into Nate’s neck, and Nate just squeezes him, tight, and thinks about how he’s not going to stop for a long time. He’d forgotten, somehow, how well they fit together, how good it feels to be pressed up against each other like this, and how warm Mikey feels, even though it’s fucking freezing out and Mikey’s only wearing a Devils t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants that Nate’s pretty sure used to be his.

“I’m sorry,” Mikey says, the words muffled by the fabric of Nate’s shirt. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t–”

“It’s okay,” Nate says, and rubs Mikey’s back soothingly. “I’m sorry too.”

“You already said that,” Mikey says. “I’m sorry for the text, too.”

“You were pissed,” Nate says. “It’s okay.”

“I hate it when we take things out on each other,” Mikey says.

“So do I,” Nate says. “We’ll do better next time, I guess.”

“We will,” Mikey says, firm.

Nate just holds him closer, buries his face in Mikey’s hair.

***

Nate wakes up with Mikey in his arms the next morning, and, like.

It’s probably the last time for a while.

He takes a deep breath, looks at his ring, and reminds himself that they’ll have this for the rest of their lives.

“Hey,” he says, soft.

“Yo,” Mikey grumbles, slightly less awake than Nate.

Nate smiles. “You look dumb when you sleep.”

**Author's Note:**

> nate probably almost forgot his passport tbh. 
> 
> [come talk to me on tumblr,](https://lottswrites.tumblr.com/) or follow me on twitter @lottslottslotts

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] this is the real thing](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14603514) by [ofjustimagine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofjustimagine/pseuds/ofjustimagine)




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